


I Want To Protect You

by jojosbrazzeradventure



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Based on a Tumblr Post, Eventual Fluff, Explicit Language, F/M, Heavy Angst, I Don't Even Know, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-17 05:17:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9306938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jojosbrazzeradventure/pseuds/jojosbrazzeradventure
Summary: You're stuck in an abusive relationship, and too scared to break it off. It was never more than him virtually controlling you, but one day it escalated. You don't know what to do, and run to the only person you think could help.





	1. Chapter 1

You slumped in your bed, holding your phone tightly. The last decent conversation you had still was up on the screen. You had read it over multiple times, as if it would have changed. You were lost in thought for a while until a loud slam startled you. You cringed and let out a groan. All the happiness that last text thread had given you instantly vanished and was replaced by immense sadness. You walked out of your room and looked out over the wall nervously. Your so-called 'boyfriend' Derek was standing in the doorway, looking just as angry as always. He threw down his bag and forcefully threw himself into a chair. You shyly stepped forward and awkwardly waved.

"H-Hey, babe. What's, um, w-what's up?"

Derek growled. You flinched.

"U-Uh, can I, um, get you an-anything? Do you want a beer?"

He turned to you and grunted. "Just shut the fuck up, woman!" The hard edge of his words hit you like a freight train. You set down your phone on the coffee table and swiftly walked into the kitchen. You opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. You tip-toed lightly back into the living room and handed the beer to Derek. He ripped the beer from your hands and took a swig.

"A-Anything else....?" you muttered softly. Derek glared up at you and you quickly got the hint. "O-OK, I'll just, um, leave."

"Wait a second, (y/n)," Derek said harshly. You flinched and turned back around with your shoulders bunched around your neck. Derek held up your phone, with Tyler's text thread still on it. You took a deep breath, preparing yourself.

"What the _fuck_ is this?" he asked. His voice was dark and a little bit terrifying. "Are you cheating on me?"

You frantically shook your head. "No, no way! I'd never do that," you said hastily. Derek's eyes narrowed; he clearly didn't believe you.

"You better not, bitch," he growled. "You know what I'd do if you were."

Tears prickled the back of your eyes. You knew Derek didn't care if you cried, which made you want to cry more. Derek scoffed at your misery.

"Delete it."

"W-What..?"

"Delete the fucking number. I don't want you talking to anyone else," Derek said firmly. You quickly obliged. You showed Derek the screen that read _Deleted._

"See? It's gone," you said. Derek nodded.

"Thank you," he said, without a single ounce of gratitude. He turned back around to face the TV and you sat down on the floor next to him.

* * *

 

After a long while of complete silence, just the television lightly muttering, your phone started to ring. You instantly thought _oh shit,_ and frantically tried to shut it off. Unfortunately, Derek got to it first. He pulled it from your hands and glowered at the screen.

"Who the fuck is this?" He violently shoved the phone in your face.

You squinted at the number and blanched when you saw it. "I-I....I don't..."

"Don't fucking lie to me, slut!" Derek shouted.

You flinched from his sudden volume. ".....It was Tyler," you said honestly.

Derek let out a cry of frustration. "I knew it! You _were_ fucking cheating on me!"

You felt yourself start to hyperventilate. "No! I swear, babe, I'd never-!"

"You fucking whore! Am I not good enough for you?!"

You tried to convince Derek otherwise, but he wouldn't listen. "I'm not lying, I didn't cheat!"

"Shut up!" he roared. You recoiled, your shoulders bunched around your neck. Tears started to fill your eyes.

"Baby, please, listen! I-!"

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!"

Derek's hand formed a fist. He raised it in the air, and brought it down directly on your face. You fell to your knees and put a hand over your eye reflexively. The tears you had been holding back fell down your cheeks. Derek's glare softened just a tiny bit. He growled quietly and turned around.

"I'm going out. You better be here when I get back," Derek mumbled. He grabbed his bag from the chair and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Once he was gone, you wasted no time running to your room. You grabbed only the essential things you needed and shoved them in a backpack. You jumped out of the window and landed on the grass in front of your house. Luckily, your house had only one floor. You hadn't expected it to be raining, so you involuntarily let out a groan. But you couldn't spend another second near this house, so you didn't complain anymore and started running.

The rain stung your eyes as you ran, but you had to keep moving. You wouldn't stop until you reached your destination. Your hair and clothes were sticking to your body, but you still weren't stopping. You kept running, and after what felt like an hour, you were at where you wanted to be. You went up to the door and knocked, grateful for the porch roof above you. A few seconds later, a familiar red-haired man opened the door.

"(y/n)? What are you doing here?" Josh asked with furrowed eyebrows. You pushed past him into the house and exhaled a sigh of relief. Josh shrugged and closed the door behind you. You took a few deep breaths and turned around, keeping your eye under your hair.

"Is this about Derek..?" Josh asked you softly. You nodded solemnly. Josh's expression hardened for a moment. "What happened this time?"

You sighed. _Should I tell him?_ You trusted Josh, a lot, but you weren't sure what he'd do or say. You looked up at his concerned eyes. You slowly lifted your hair away from your face, revealing the red and black scars under your eye. You watched as Josh's expression changed from concerned to surprised to anger.

"Jesus," he said as he looked at your eye. "Are you doing okay, (y/n)?"

You shook your head slowly. "Not at all. I haven't slept in about four days and I feel like I'm dying," you muttered. Your eyes filled with tears again. "I'm scared."

Josh let out a low growl. He ruffled your hair affectionately, not bothered that it was wet. "Don't worry, (y/n). You're safe here," he said softly. "How about you take a shower and try and rest? I'll get you something to eat," Josh said with a smile.

You wanted to cry. Not because of sadness, but because you were so happy to finally be treated like a person. You took off your backpack and slung it onto the couch. Josh pulled out his phone and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna call Tyler and tell him you're here."

A chill went down your spine. You blanched and quickly turned around to face Josh. "No!"

Josh looked at you with confusion. "Huh?"

Your heart crawled into your throat. "Please don't tell Tyler."

"What? Why not?"

You gulped, trying to send your heart back down. You were starting to panic. "I can't let him see me like this. I don't want him to worry about me. He's got enough to deal with as it is. Please, Josh, do _not_ call him."

Josh took a deep breath and set his phone on the counter. "Okay. I won't tell him." He gave you a peaceful smile, and you relaxed a little. "By the way, did you bring any extra clothes? That bag looks pretty light," Josh asked.

"Shit. I didn't. I only grabbed what I really needed," you said.

Josh smirked. "That's fine, I'm sure Tyler won't mind if you borrow something of his. You remember where his room is, right?"

* * *

After taking a shower and eating some cereal, you felt a lot better. Josh said there was a small spare room in the back of the house, so that's where you were staying. You decided to try and sleep, like Josh said, but it was unusually difficult. Every time you did fall asleep, it was only for a few minutes. After about 20 tries, you actually stayed asleep, but started having a nightmare. You were used to having nightmares, but this one was particularly awful.

You were sitting in Derek's living room, trying to hide from him. He was chasing you, armed with nothing but his fist. His face was that of a mental patient with the same crazed eyes and crooked smile.

"Come on, (y/n), come out," he taunted. "You know what I'll do to you if you hide."

You were panicking, trying to scramble for anything that you could use as a weapon, but there was nothing. You were backed into a corner and eventually Derek laid his eyes on you. He chuckled and walked towards you. "Thank you, my dear, for showing yourself." He knelt in front of you and his fist was about to collide with your eye.

You shot awake, taking deep gulps of air to calm yourself.

"Hey, (y/n), are you okay?" a familiar voice said from next to you. You cringed, and turned your head to see him.

"Tyler, what are you doing here?"

"Josh called me."

"Damn it," you muttered. "I told him not to..."

Tyler frowned. "Why not? You know I worry about you."

"That's exactly why I didn't want Josh to call you. What did he say?"

"Not much," Tyler said dismissively. "Just that you had some trouble with your boyfriend and came over here."

You let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off of your forehead. "Oh, thank God."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Why didn't you want me to worry about you?"

You blanched. "I-I...um.." You averted your eyes.

"(y/n)? What happened?" he repeated, his voice slightly colder.

You sighed deeply. "Okay, don't freak out." You lifted your hair out of your face, revealing the black eye. Tyler's eyes widened, then narrowed angrily.

"How did this happen?" he asked. "Who did this to you?"

You could tell he was trying not to get mad. "It was...um, D-Derek..."

Tyler inhaled sharply. "What?"

You still refused to look at him. "When you called me earlier, he got mad. He asked me to delete your number, and I did, but he thought I was cheating. He then....he.." Your voice broke. In your peripherals, you saw Tyler's face grow into one of extreme concern.

"(y/n)?" Tyler's voice was soft and relaxed. "Why didn't you tell me? You know that I really worry about you, and care about you. I want to help you."

A few tears rolled down your face. "I know. I didn't want you to worry. You already have too much to deal with. I'd just be a burden on you," you mumbled. Tyler climbed on the bed next to you. His voice was still quiet, but it had a little ounce of sadness.

"You could never be a burden on me. I want to help you, regardless of my own issues."

It took a little while to fully understand what he said. You started to cry, not being able to hold it in anymore. You couldn't accept what Tyler said. It made you feel guilty, like you were taking advantage of him. That thought made you cry more. Tyler wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you closer to him. He put his other hand on your chin and lifted it so you were looking at him. You wanted to turn away, but Tyler's hand wouldn't let you.

"Come on, (y/n). I want to protect you. Can you please tell me the full story?" he asked softly.

You took his hand off of your face and just held it. "O-Okay, fine."

And so you did. You told Tyler everything, about Derek, about it all. You told him how you ran away, never wanting to go back. At the end of the story, you felt yourself starting to tear up again. Tyler, who noticed this, pulled you into a full hug. You buried your face in Tyler's chest and wrapped your arms around his back.

"I'm glad you told me, (y/n)," he said softly. "But you should forget all about that now; you're safe here. I'll take care of you."

You looked up at him and smiled through your tears. "Thank you" was all you could manage. You couldn't stop crying, which made Tyler look worried.

"(y/n)? Are you okay? D-Did I say something wrong...?"

You choked back another sob. "No, no, that's not it." You sniffled. "It's...it's just that, well, it's nice to actually _feel_ that someone cares about me."

Tyler wiped your tears with his thumb and tucked a lock of your hair behind your ear. He gave you a soft smile. "Well, I do. I don't think you deserved any of what happened to you." He got off of the bed and gave you one more hair ruffle. "I'm going to bed, it's late. You should try and get some rest too."

He turned around and began to step towards the hallway. You realized right then, that you didn't want him to leave. You quickly sat up, leaned forward and latched on to the sleeve of Tyler's sweatshirt. His body tensed up.

"H-huh?"

You stared up into Tyler's wide chocolate eyes. "I...I don't want you to leave," you whispered.

Tyler's cheeks flushed. "What..?"

"D-Do you mind, um....Could you stay, with me tonight? I just...don't want to be alone."

Tyler's body relaxed. He stepped back towards the bed. "Um, okay, if it'll make you feel better."

You let go of his sleeve and moved over for Tyler to fit. He climbed under the blanket next to you. As soon as he looked content, you snuggled up next to his side and put your arm around his torso. You lied your head on his chest and Tyler slipped his arm around your back. You smiled up at him, your eyes still moist. He smiled back, but it quickly changed into a frown.

"Is...Is that mine?" Tyler asked, pointing to your hoodie.

"Uh, y-yeah, actually it is. I didn't really have a chance to grab any of my clothes, so I just borrowed yours. Sorry," you said in a mild voice.

You couldn't see it, but you were at least 90% sure Tyler was blushing. "Oh, uh, o-okay. I'll buy you some tomorrow, so you won't have to take mine. I need them," he said with a laugh. You gave his hand a squeeze.

"Thank you, that's really sweet. Now, let's sleep."

Tyler chuckled and pulled himself closer to you. You put your head back on his chest and close your eyes. After a few minutes, you fell into the first restful sleep you'd had in a very long time, cradled in Tyler's arms.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only like two people said for me to do another chapter, but I wanted to write one anyways. Hope you enjoy it! AND I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THIS FOR 8 MILLION FUCKING YEARS BUT HERE IT IS  
> (by the way i started writing this when Josh dyed his hair neon yellow and decided to leave it, so please don't get triggered over that)

You woke up with a smile tearing at your cheeks. Tyler's arm was wrapped around you softly, your head laying on his chest. You looked up at his sleeping face, and leaned up to kiss his cheek. You finally were happy. After a few weeks, the nightmares had disappeared and your eye had healed. You were perfectly content, staying in the same room as Tyler every night. As you were about to fall back asleep, you felt a hand on your hair and shot back awake. You looked up and saw Tyler smiling down at you.

"Good morning, love," he said quietly.

You laughed and he kissed your forehead lightly. You pulled yourself off of him and got out of bed. You walked into the bathroom to brush your hair. Tyler stood behind you and hugged you from behind, his bare chest rubbing against your back. He kissed your neck, making you moan softly and blush.

"Tyler!" you chided.

He laughed. "What, I can't show my girlfriend how much I love her?"

You pushed his face away playfully and he pouted. He went into his closet and came out wearing his classic black tank top. After you finished brushing your hair you followed Tyler out of his room into the kitchen, where Josh was eating cereal. He looked up at you and smiled. The sun shone on his hair, making it look like even more of a highlighter.

"Morning, lovebirds," he said sarcastically. You smirked.

"Morning, highlighter-head," you quipped, lightly ruffling his neon hair. You opened up one of the cabinets, looking for your favorite cereal. You eventually found it and shoved some in your mouth. It tasted better dry. You went over to the couch and sat down, still gulping down handfuls of the cereal. Tyler sat next to you and looked at you with slight fear in his eyes.

"Whoa, (y/n), slow down! You could choke like that," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh please, you should know I don't have a gag reflex," you said, smirking.

Tyler blushed heavily and Josh snorted from the kitchen. Tyler playfully hit your arm. "(y/n)!"

You laughed. "But seriously, did you guys have any plans for today?"

"Nah, not really," Josh muttered. "We just got back from a couple of shows, you know, so we need to chill for a little."

Tyler nonchalantly slipped his arm around you. "Why? You wanna do something?"

You shrugged. "Well, yeah. I haven't left this house in like three weeks."

Tyler furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Hm....What could we do that's fun?" His voice had a hint of sarcasm; you knew exactly what he was thinking. He winked in a joking manner. 

"Let me guess. You wanna get tacos."

Tyler pulled you close to his body and kissed your forehead. "You know me so well. Would you like to accompany me, my lady?"

You sighed and let out a small chuckle. "Sure. Sounds fun." 

* * *

You took a particularly large swig of your drink. Tyler sat in front of you, laughing and chatting with Josh. His enthusiastic hand movements made all of the lettuce in his taco fall out, but he didn't seem to notice or care. You couldn't focus on what he was saying. That damn taco kept swinging around and stealing your attention. Unfortunately, you were just a little too scared to ask him to put it down. You slurped your drink again. Tyler finally seemed to notice just how much stuff had fallen out of his taco and slowly put it down. You bit your lip to stifle a chuckle. Josh quirked an eyebrow at you. 

"Hey, (y/n), are you okay? You look a little...I don't know, tense, I guess."

You tried to force a smile. "Really, I'm fine."

Now Tyler's eyes were on you as well. "You sure?"

You sighed. Those boys were just too good at reading you. "Yeah, but I'm a little nervous. I haven't been outside since...well, the, uh,  _incident_ _._ "

Josh winced. "Oh. That makes sense."

"Don't worry, (y/n)," Tyler said softly. "You'll be fine." 

He gave you a reassuring smile and you relaxed a little. Only a little. No matter what Tyler or Josh said, you couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching you. You took a quick look around the various tables, and your eyes landed on an all-too-familiar face. You whipped your head back around, silently panicking. You refused to accept what you just saw. You wondered if it was even real, but you were too terrified to look again. Tyler lightly tapped your shoulder, making you jump.

"Um, are you really sure you're okay?"

You crossed your arm across your body and just barely shook your head. "No," you whispered. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just not ready to go outside."

Tyler gingerly placed his hand over yours. "Don't apologize. It's completely understandable."

You wanted to cry just from how nice he was, but you figured that would make you look even worse. Josh smiled at you, his eyes sparkling.

"Do you wanna go home?"

You only nodded, not trusting your voice. It took a lot of effort to stand up, but you managed. You followed Tyler and Josh out of the Taco Bell and down to the car. However, before you could reach the car, a sudden force struck Tyler. At first you thought someone pulled out of the driveway too fast and accidentally hit him. But as you turned around, you realized it was even worse. That face you saw inside had been real.

"D...Derek," you croaked.

Utter rage blazed in his eyes. He stood over a collapsed Tyler, a fist raised in the air. He noticed you staring at him and glowered even fiercer.

"You," he said. "You little whore."

You tried to say something to stand up for yourself, but all that terror you'd repressed came rushing back. Tears pricked your eyes.

"I knew you'd run to them," Derek said, stepping over Tyler's body.

"Why wouldn't she...? She has no reason to stay with you," Tyler taunted, managing to stand himself up.

Derek's head whipped around to face Tyler. A pang of sudden panic and worry hit your gut.

"Tyler, don't," you warned. "I don't want to pull you into this."

"You already have. So I might as well stick it out to the end."

Derek chose to reply with another punch to Tyler's face. You and Josh gasped. You tugged on Derek's arm, trying to restrain him.

"Please, Derek! Don't hurt him! This isn't his fault!"

Derek turned back to you. "You're right. It isn't his fault. It's yours, you slut."

"W-What...?"

"You were _mine._ Mine!"

Josh stepped forward and glared at Derek. "(y/n) doesn't belong to anyone, least of all you."

"What?!" Derek roared.

You were very close to tears. "Josh, please. Stay out of this."

"You better listen to her, boy."

Josh very clearly didn't want to, but if only because of you, he stepped back. Derek's face seemed to be stuck in a permanent glare.

"I knew you were cheating on me from the start! Was I not good enough for you?!"

"Derek, I--"

"I gave you a home! I took care of you!"

Tyler snickered from behind Derek. "You call giving her a black eye 'taking care of her'?"

Luckily, Derek ignored him. "You took me for granted."

You didn't know what that meant, but were too scared to ask. You did know that you should probably stand up to him. But what would you say? Anything you could say he would twist out of proportion. You decided to just stand there and take his abuse. You've done it for 3 years, you can do it for a little longer.

"You slut." Derek frowned. "No, you're just pathetic. Throwing yourself at other men for attention, but who would give _you_ anything? You should feel lucky you get any attention from me because nobody else would want you."

You lowered your head in shame. You couldn't do anything. Your hands trembled at your sides. From the corner of your eyes, you could see Derek slightly shift his weight. Was he gearing up for another attack? You didn't care. A new feeling was mixed in with your fear. Derek was still taunting you, but you didn't hear him. Unbridled rage roared in your ears and before you could stop yourself, you were shouting.

"Shut the fuck up!"

The blunt shock of your voice was enough to stun Derek into silence. You continued, not even putting into consideration the repercussions of your actions.

"You took away all of my freedom. You have no right to lecture me about 'caring', since you seem to be physically incapable of such things!"

Even Tyler and Josh looked slightly scared. Derek's startled expression slowly melted back into his famous glower. His hand went behind his back and seemed to grab onto something. A horrible feeling arose in your chest. Tyler, standing behind Derek, seemed to have a clear view of what he was holding. Judging by Tyler's expression, it was not exactly something great.

"You think you can disrespect me like this, little bitch?" Derek taunted, his voice softer than usual. His arm began to lift slowly. A small jolt of fear passed through you. As his arm raised, you could easily tell what he was holding. In his left hand sat something long and silver. A handgun. "I think I have to teach you a little lesson."

You didn't know what to do. There was no way you could die here. You looked over at Josh for support, but at some point he had left. Where did he go? He didn't just up and abandon you here, right? No, he probably just went to call the police. Hopefully. You didn't want to, but your eyes forced you to look back at Derek.

"Where did you get that...?"

Derek smirked. "It's just a little something I picked up. Now, you don't want me to use this on you, do you? Of course you don't. So just be a good little whore and come with me. Leave these idiots and come back."

You really didn't want to die, especially not now. But a while ago you had made the decision that some fates were worse than death. "Fuck that."

Derek snarled. "Fine, then. Enjoy your last moments."

When he pulled the trigger, everything seemed to phase into slow motion. You turned your eyes to the ground and shut them, awaiting your end. But the longer you waited the more confused you were. You never felt any impact. You opened your eyes and looked around. Everything you did not expect to happen had happened. A familiar disheveled figure lay in your lap, clutching his arm. With a pang to your gut you realized who it was.

"T...Tyler..?"

Even Derek looked startled. "W-What?"

Josh came running over with his phone in his hand. "The police are on-" Josh's speech faltered as he gazed at the injured Tyler in your lap. "...their way," he finished quietly. You just barely glanced up at him, tears forming in your eyes. The familiar sound of sirens wailed in the air. Derek's pistol clattered to the ground in shock. You gripped Tyler's hand tightly.

"T-Tyler...why?" you whispered. The sound of cuffs clanking together rang out, along with Derek's screams of objection. But you couldn't focus on it. A paramedic had to struggle to pry your hands off Tyler's arm. Another officer stood you up and guided you into a car. You provided almost no resistance to it. You watched the ambulance carrying Tyler's body drive off. The car you were in drove down the road to a large building. You couldn't focus on what it was. You didn't care. You didn't care about anything anymore.

* * *

You sat in the lobby of the hospital, staring at the clean tiled floor. Everything that just happened felt like a huge blur. You could barely even remember what you did, even though it happened not twenty minutes ago. You have a bleak memory of a police station room with a few officers. You think you were brought in as a witness. You might've confessed to Derek's abuse. You might've cried. You weren't quite sure. All you did know was that Tyler was shot.

_And it was your fault_.

You wanted to argue with yourself that it wasn't your fault, but you couldn't.

_Everything was your fault._ _If you hadn't left that house two months ago, Tyler wouldn't be in this mess._

_Shut up,_ you told yourself.

You tried to ignore that little voice in your head. Tears blurred your vision and rolled down your cheeks. A soft touch on your shoulder made you almost fall out of your seat. Your arm reflexively snapped upwards and smacked against something soft.

"Ow," Josh muttered, gingerly touching his nose.

"S-Sorry."

Josh forced himself to smile. "It's okay. I've had worse." Josh's arm returned to his side. "But the real problem here is if _you_ are okay."

You felt yourself start to cry again, but managed to hold it in. "How could I be okay? The love of my life just got fucking shot, and it was my fault. Tell me how I could possibly be okay."

Josh frowned. "Whoa, hang on. How was this your fault?"

"How could it not be?!" you shrieked. " _I'm_ the one Derek was trying to shoot. _I'm_ the one who aggravated him!" Your shouting caused the barrier between your tears and your skin to break. Tears traveled down your cheeks and you buried your face in your hands. Josh gingerly placed his hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, (y/n), don't beat yourself up over it. You did what you could, and that's enough."

If only on an impulse, you reached over and smothered Josh in a hug. He seemed surprised for a moment. He softly wrapped his arms around your back. You shoved your face into his chest and cried. Josh gently placed his hand on the back of your head. Someone behind you cleared their throat. You turned to face them and saw a doctor looking at you.

"Excuse me, are you (y/n)?" the doctor asked, gesturing to you. You broke out of Josh's arms and nodded. "Please come with me," the doctor said.

You briefly glanced at Josh, then stepped towards the doctor. He lead you into the room where Tyler was staying. He let you walk in, then closed the door behind you. Both of you walked up to Tyler's bed, where he was sleeping while a nurse put some sort of (probably) antibacterial cream on the gunshot wound.

"He asked to see you before the operation."

"Operation?"

The doctor nodded. "We'll need to surgically remove the bullet, of course."

"Oh. Right," you replied, still a little dazed.

The doctor made a gesture to the nurse to back off. She pocketed the bottle of cream and flashed you a sympathetic smile before walking out of the room. The doctor gently patted your shoulder. "We'll give you two a moment."

You watched him shut the door before trying to wake Tyler up. You sat on the bed next to him and placed your hand on his own. "Tyler? Wake up, love," you said.

He stirred. His eyes fluttered open slowly. As his vision cleared and he realized it was you, Tyler smiled. "H-Hi, (y/n)," he whispered groggily.

When he spoke, you instantly wanted to start crying again. You tried to hold yourself together and put on a fake smile. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

Tyler gently laced his fingers through yours. "I'm doing okay," he said, carefree-sounding as ever.

How could he sound so upbeat at a time like this? You sighed and averted your eyes to the ground. "Idiot."

Tyler seemed shocked by your statement. "What..?"

You kept your eyes on the tile floor, afraid if you looked at him that you would definitely start crying again. "Why would you do something like that for me? I don't deserve anything like that."

"What are you talking about?" Tyler's words were still quiet, but you could hear the confusion in his voice.

"I'm not worth being shot for. You shouldn't have put yourself in that kind of danger just for me. Your life is way more important than mine."

Tyler squeezed your hand firmly. "Don't talk like that, (y/n). You deserve so much more than what I can give you. I couldn't have lived with myself if you were the one who was shot and I knew I could've done something about it. I couldn't just watch you die. You..." He trailed off, sighing. "You matter too much to me."

You were silent, trying to absorb Tyler's words. Was it really possible for someone to care about you this much? You kept trying to convince yourself that yes, it was, but one little part of your mind kept nagging at the fact that you weren't worth any attention. Was it all some elaborate joke? But not even Tyler would take a joke as far as getting shot for the sake of tricking you. You had told yourself that you wouldn't cry anymore, but you just couldn't help it. Tyler reached up and wiped your tears with his thumb. He sighed.

"Don't let what that idiot Derek said convince you that you shouldn't have access to love. The only ones that don't deserve attention are people like him."

You grabbed onto Tyler's hand and just held it against your face.

Tyler chuckled. "You wanna lay down with me?"

You blushed softly. "I-I...um, okay," you muttered, slowly laying down against Tyler's chest. He wrapped his arm around your waist from behind. He leaned his head forward and whispered into your ear.

"Hey. You are incredible, and I'd be happy to get shot for you any day. I love you."

A small smile crept across your face. "I love you, too."

You snuggled backwards into Tyler's body gently. Something hard poked into the back of your thigh and you flinched. You were about to make a very sexual innuendo, but forced yourself not to. "What the hell was that?" you said instead, turning to look at Tyler.

Tyler blushed. "I...uh, had a present for you. Could you stand up, please?"

You obliged and stood up. You looked at Tyler confusedly.

Tyler fished a small box out from under the blanket. A wave of every single negative emotion mashed up together crashed through you as you looked at the red velvet box. "Is...Is that a...?" you said, your throat constricting at the words.

"I was originally gonna give you this way later, but you already found it. So, I'll just give it to you now."

He stretched his hand out to you, the box balancing on his fingers. Your whole body was shaking. "I.....T-Tyler, we've only been going out for less than half a year."

"I know, but we've been friends for a few years. And last year I had already made the decision that I wanted to keep you in my life, by any means necessary. I know it's not proper, but will you take it? Will you take me?"

You felt yourself starting to hyperventilate. Your eyes could only focus on that little red box. It was a life or death decision. No matter which option you chose, someone's life would change. Your hand trembled as you reached out. Your decision was already made for you a while ago. Your hand latched onto the little box just as the door opened. The doctor walked back in, with the nurse in tow.

"So, are you two done?" the doctor said suddenly, making you flinch and quickly retract your hand.

You shoved the box in your pocket as fast as you could. "Uh...ye-yeah, yeah, we are."

The doctor chuckled. "Good. Because we have to start the operation now."

You sighed. "Okay." You gave Tyler one last worried look.

He smiled at you. "Don't worry, love. I'll be fine."

You nodded slowly and turned to walk out of the room. Your body was still shaking, which made it difficult to walk. You stumbled over to a chair and flopped down, immediately zoning out and getting lost in your own thoughts. So many thoughts barraged your brain that even you couldn't understand them. You knew Josh was trying to talk to you, but you couldn't understand a single thing he had said. He gently smacked your arm.

"Huh....?" you said in a dazed voice, slowly turning towards him.

"I think I should take you home. You look...not good."

"Oh. O-Okay..."

You stood up and almost instantly fell over. Josh grabbed your arm and hoisted you back up. He sighed. "Do I need to hold your hand or something so you don't fall over again?"

"Yeah, probably."

 Josh practically carried you to his car. You were that shaken up. But who wouldn't be in that scenario? As Josh drove you home, all you could think about was your decision earlier. Did Tyler really mean that he wanted to marry you? And did you really want to marry him? Before you knew it, you were back home. 

"That was fast," you muttered.

Josh frowned. "(y/n), we've been in the car for 2 hours. You really don't seem okay, did something happen?"

You choked back a sob. "I...I don't want to talk about it."

Josh's hand reached out like he wanted to reassuringly pat your shoulder, but he decided it would be better not to. He shut off the engine and stepped out of the car. He opened your door and helped lift you out of your seat. He barely reached the house door before you started stumbling over again. It took a whopping four seconds before you lost your balance and had to hold yourself up on the kitchen counter. You forced yourself into a stool and tried to catch your breath.

"Why..?" you said in a brittle tone.

"What?"

"Why did all this have to happen to me? Why...why did I have to take that ring?"

"Ring?"

Tears formed in your eyes. "Yes, a ring!" you exclaimed, turning to Josh and fishing the little velvet box out of your pocket. "Tyler....he was gonna...propose to me."

Josh sighed. "So you found out, huh?"

You frowned. "What? You...knew?"

Josh nodded with a gleam of shame in his eyes.

"I can't believe this. You KNEW?!"

Your sudden shouting made Josh flinch. "(y/n), please calm down."

You jumped down from the chair, unreasonably livid. "You knew about this whole damn thing! And you didn't fucking tell me!"

You grabbed the nearest object to you and chucked it at Josh, which luckily was only a plastic cup. It missed Josh entirely and clattered harmlessly against the floor. Your whole body was shaking. All that anger rushing through you had exited your system and left your limbs weak. You flopped back onto the stool listlessly.

"It's my fault..."

Josh was still slightly scared. "Um... _what_ is your fault?"

"Everything. Tyler getting shot, me getting angry at you for the ring...wait, the ring. I...I'm an idiot. I cheated myself out of my own goddamn proposal!" You put your head in your hands and began to sob.

Josh walked over and gingerly placed his hand on your back. "Hey, I thought we already talked about this. None, absolutely none, of this was because of you."

"How could it not be?"

Josh spun the stool around so you were facing him. He wrapped his arms around you suddenly, gripping your back tightly. "I don't know what happened to you to make you feel like you're a bad person, but you definitely didn't deserve it."

Your arms stiffened at your sides. "...Why are you so nice to me? You don't need to be."

Josh seemed surprised by your question. He reached up and ran his fingers through your hair. "Because you're like a sister to me. You and Tyler are my family, and I love my family." He let go of you and planted a gentle kiss on your forehead. "Tyler's a strong guy. One little wound like that wouldn't kill him," he said with a soft smile.

You snuggled into Josh's chest. It was nice that someone was there with you. You felt your tears drying as you wrapped your arms around his back. "Are...are you sure?"

"Positive." Josh hugged you back and gently patted the top of your head. "He'll be fine. I know he will."

The more he said it, the more reassured you started to feel. Which was new, since you spent the last two days worrying he wouldn't make it.

You smiled to yourself. "Okay."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betcha weren't expecting that, huh? I'm incredibly sorry (but not really, angst is fun to write). Please don't hate me.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not sure, but I might write another chapter if you guys want one. If this does well, i'll consider it. Just tell me in the comments.  
> Thanks.


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